Demons of The Kilns

(Daimones Kerami-koi; Ceramics Demons; Potter's Demons) Greek Potters were very important in Greek culture, for the functional ware they produced as well as for the artistic pottery they crafted that celebrated the gods and the stories of their interactions with human cultures. So important was success to these artisans that they recognized a separate group of pesky semi-gods, or demons, that they prayed to before firing a new batch of pottery. When things went wrong, potters blamed these demons for the damage to the pottery and then appeased them with more prayers to ensure that the next firing went well. Each demon was named for the damage he created in the kiln. They were: Asbetus (Asbetos) – Char – who burned pottery; Sabactes (Sabaktes) – Crash – who broke pottery; Smaragus (Smaragon) – Smash – who dropped pottery; Suntrobus (Suntrobos) – Shatter – who exploded clay; Omodamus (Omodamos) – Crudebake – who caused pottery to harden poorly. As a wild force from the heavens, this troop of demons would also come to destroy the kiln of an unfair, unworthy potter. The daimones keramikoi are best known from the poetry of Homer, who wrote a prayer for potters, calling upon Athena, who, among other things, was the goddess of pottery. He asked her to help potters if they were fair and honest, but he threatened the potters with destruction by these demons if the potters cheated customers or acted unfairly.